PrintMay 10, 2008
Hillary's All or Nothing
It must be devastating for Hillary Rhodam Clinton to see her chances of becoming the Democratic nominee fade into oblivion. It has to be beyond infuriating to have the media that once so blindly worshipped and adored her mischievous better half turn on her and declare with such confidence to a country that, as far as she is concerned has not yet had the final word, that the die is cast, and hers is now an unstoppable plunge into defeat.
This is supposed to be the time at which the planets should have been perfectly aligned to signal her messianic arrival. This is the hour for which she was born; this is supposed to be her moment; and who would dare presume to take that away from her?
The answer to that is a no less ambitious contender named Barack Obama. And to have her rival even begin to consider planning a victory rally and mere news pundits like Tim Russert or George Stephanopoulos in essence declare that she should no longer stay in the game must conjure up feelings and thoughts in her mind inappropriate to put into words.
So it is only a matter of time before she or her husband drops some kind of bomb. It's almost inevitable. This may just be the most opportune time to expose that scandalous news from Obama's past Hillary once claimed she was in possession of. The suspense is part of what is making this whole race for the nomination in the Democratic Party so much fun to watch.
One wonders how many undecided voters will simply become angry and disgusted enough from witnessing this no holds barred brawl for raw power between two presumably well-bred human beings, and simply refuse to vote, or perhaps even better -- God forbid? -- vote Republican. That remains to be seen. One can only hope.
But there is no doubt that this entire spectacle has left an awful taste in the mouths of many who had embarked in this journey with rather modest expectations of what was promised would be a race marked with the utmost civility and decor, rather than the grand comedy of errors it has turned out to be thus far; especially from two candidates who solemnly pledged a new era of politics free from character assassination tactics.
The political paparazzi are poised to catch the next odious gesture from either candidate. The pundits are dissecting every word, analyzing every nuance; and seizing upon any passing remark with even a smidgen of potentially racist or misogynist undertones. As for Hillary, her strategists are very likely brainstorming, working feverishly to avoid making her campaign look like an exercise in futility, and dirt digging at a frenzied pace, while the clock is ticking and the candle burns at both ends, into what probably will be a long, hot summer.
But Hillary is not known to be of the sort that graciously accepts defeat with dignity -- and very few Democratic hopefuls have recently displayed a good loser mentality anyway. Coupled with the fact that she has devoted her whole earthly existence to reaching this summit, the next few weeks will undoubtedly bring some very entertaining, and perhaps shocking surprises from her camp. After all, what has she got to lose now?
And who can forbid her tenacity, when the alternative would be forever regretting having been a fool who allowed fate to get in the way of a destiny she had so painstakingly orchestrated.
